Culture Cringe Winter 2025 - 2026 Zine

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CK WHEN I WAS A TEEN-AGER, i had this old television with bwo NG. PB
king front - one was for VHF channels and one for UHF. kia 8 > while “JHP”
high frequency” and included channels between 2 and 13 (I ne and ZB or
tood for “ultra high frequency” and included channels betwe eas
a o liked to play around with the UHF channels..... that 8 where e nanga
mara anyways. On some nights I would mess around with the a pick up some |
had a fine tuning wheel - and if the conditions were right, I a a Pp pe ae
REALLY neat stuff. Weird channels from Nashville, Bowling ae (and 1 gp
even Paducah KY and beyond. Well here’s where it raat nid far) If
Í promise it will get interesting so hang in there, we Ap aye Maawa ET
i + if I put the dial on the highest channel..... AR TI
| learned tha! P 5 F WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HEAR.
| whatev, I could start to pick up things T WASN T SUTT 96000000006
l8 explain. Cd mace = Sa
| So I wouldn't SEE anything, Pd just hear things. At fi
| the audio from some tv show but very quickly eres
4 = e a
VERSATION. Guy. | was hearing people talk on the phone...

At first I thought | was just picking up
d that | was listening to a CON-.

SSS m22 AT KAU SS i
| don't know who it was of course, if they lived near me, | had NO idea. But sure enough, it `
~ was a full blown phone conversation. They'd be talking about the news, stuff they had gotten)
__, into, life developments, etc. Nothing scandalous. Just a good old fashioned conversation. |
__| thought this was pretty fascinating, like | was peeking behind the curtain of someone's life.
Voyeuristic. Neat-o! It happened once, | listening for OH | DUNNO five minutes or so, then | \
| moved on. HOWEVER. A few nights later there they were again, talking it up. | was like, oh ,
` shit! Time to listen in. | did for a minute or So, but it was less interesting than before. And | /

started feeling guilty. ~~ EF NT E ee maa
aaa 2000000000000000000000000N0000000AD000MNO00000 tata

Ican pretty much pinpgint to that moment as the start of my fascination w
broadcast, with radio, with the idea of trying to tune in and find somethinz
that's being.put out there. I've always liked turning dials and seeing what i can.
find on the airwaves. I think it’s so comforting that in our air there are C="
thousands of signals at all times, just waiting to be tuned into. EVERY TIME I |
SEE A RADIO TOWER, I THINK 000000HHHHH...... WONDER WHATS É
COMING OUTTA THAT THING. hu. CODOOGOOO00000K) 77 aE se
radio towers are so freakin’ neat. they're pretty, they're TALL. they're ^ñ }
dangerous, they’re sorta dystopian, they're landmarks. here are some other |
words i have thought of that describe radio towers in my opinion: dark,
"mysterious, useful, uncompromisable, off-limits, ambient, iconic, omnipresent, |
, looming, functional, towering, communicative. g,,00000000000% seas il

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- "TARI

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Witeentan

this zine will have lots of radio tower themes and will include
studies on ART BELL, short wave, college radio, casey kasem, W
number stations, and a haunted ham radio building.

Bat erie
alai Ns
| enh a

"Jana HA HART AND SIMON AUSTIN OF |
(THE LEGENDARY AUSTRALIAN BAND

| Getting to ask Angie and Simon of FRENTE some qusstinnas was a real treat for me.
sees | Their debut album - Marvin The Album (1994) - was required listening for my 1
i Seneration. Their follow up album Shape (1996) pushed their unique sound into awesome. 1
{ new grounds. One of the biggest memories of the band for me is how one of their concerts |.
| got broadcast via Westwood One on Thunder 94 FM one night in 1994, and for many |
pop ae aN reasons it was quite the memorable evening for me. Good times! 5
p Ok, enough about ME..let's get on to the interview! —

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a year for music in my 0
bas back to what all you were listening to at
a! musically? fa
f Yes it was around 88-89 that the
GÆ although the ideas and some of the songs pre-
WAN listening to New Order, Magazine, INXS, Fairground Attraction,
TEN Roxette, Neneh Cherry, Fleetwood Mac, Pixies, Triffids, Crowded } $
> i ( House, The Cure, Siouxsie, Aztec Camera, Eurythmics, Talking ay CR Pi
XA Heads, R.E.M., Cocteau Twins, Midnight Oil, Scritti Politti..I could go |
Sg on and on..and on...l listened to a fair bit of classical music, Ne
2 especially Prokofiev and Vivaldi...lots of Latin Guitar music... also as
ig Sn looked at the Billboard 200 for the charting music | was listening to:
is? George Michael (Faith) l, Guns N Roses (Appetite for Destruction) ,

pired you

date that time. | was

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of these had a big influence on me: pi: PG
VES
Ks pag” NG

id Madonna (Like a Prayer) all
2 BSED Rk

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Sy nd could be

ee Angie: What a time! I was a very eclectic listener a
fe absorbing anything from Bad Brains to Bette Midler at that time. 3
3 KA artists for me at that time would be Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Su

-4 Prince - Around The World In A Day, Parade, Sign O” The Time:
Lovesexy, LL Cool J - Bigger And Deffer, Jungle Brothers - Bone By t
re, Laurie Anderson - Strange Angels, Rickie Lee
Light, Quickness;

S ani

i > Order, Depeche Mode.

<
Pi

N matter what genre. [F
CELA senro Oe

G6: Since Tm based in the U.S.,
ZI about some of your best a ee oy aly
e [o iaasa
ow you wer P ngaa Ca K "Z

k PA here? I kn'

Al Inever got to catch one! ER: a Gr
FS a ees STEEN ANAN
: Simon: Two memories really stand out: We pl | : :
: nG when Hurricane Pam was paying her very destructive attentions to
ee A the Eastern Seaboard. We inched our way into town In the tour pus,
Ok F sneaking around fallen trees and submerged bridges, nies haa 2
ao sky..green and theatrically violent. 1 was sure no-one bani pom top

NG y the show, especially after the town power went out. But it was Q
puti packed! Ang sung and | played through a single guitar amp powere
in the bus. We sat with the audience on the 706

hts...i¢ WASA bit sacred somehow: 5

NN DAGAN NG

ayed in Chapel Hi

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: 1 My po pirsa ONE RAE Ps pagnag OB ‘Len f

5 emory is walkin z
th g into Atlantic R

Sa e first time. 107 WRZ Ar Weer a AA for A
“Everyone there was so sma and welcoming and so

a ad felt that we had made i it. ff OLIN RANA YO. Ea Bro 3
” v

Seem
e did neue > festival circuit around 4994-95 and sat on j4

Ni pam We did ‘the co
WE some truly epic bills. One of the highlights was KROQ Weenie Roast pa A
A 5 in 1994. The line up was Violent Femmes, Oingo Boingo, Pretenders,
NEO Counting Crows, Green Day, Rollins Band, Offspring, James, Beck,
We were hanging DANAO
bands of that time and it felt like

ait 7 Afghan Whigs, Pavement and Candlebox.
A re backstage with some of the biggest
idered amongst them. (3 SYA
we sounded nothing like any of `

na: h something important happened to be consi
wv, Especially, as was always the way;
to talk to anyone, which is a common thread in
t on that enormous stage, the A _

them. I was too shy
: my younger years. When we go
d I felt cool if only for that moment.
first U.S. show at one of the BA
Nata raf

5 "audience Was totally up for it an

a «in Seattle, 1994, we played our very

3 original coffee houses, Bauhaus Strong Coffee. We were on high /r pa!
| rotation at radio station 'the end’ 107-7, who were the promotors for |
3 shis show, with our b-side, a cover of New Order’s Bizarre Love

\ Triangle. Mary Lou Lord was supporting, who was indie-rock royalty
“in that era. | liked her a lot. She was shy like me, So we barely 41
'salked. Word got out and there was a line around the block to attend | |
| this tiny little coffee shop gig in the late afternoon. It was such a 4 gË

a novel set-up and so much fun, packed to rafters with alL.of us, bands

and audience alike, high on ite feeling that we were experiencing a

VY 3 ng 4 xe 1% NGA

ny GG: Your first albors, Marvin The peiie is gach a classic! When ra
xe came out, revon people like me and my friends in “small town ( SES GZA
Ng Te Tennessee” were obsessed with it. You were already making huge ty Pa
sg i waves in Australia at the time - but Pm curious as to how the sudden; pa?
NG international Success and pabayaan pika the band, a at an KA. WZ ¢
aH Zi
‘pes TER GH Be AYAN SE ka E
w! Simon: i
Nai x si aaa mad adventure. | grew up and NAAN axaudad as ay:
i Vx a ka n. Making and playing music during those years was pretty | X 7
illing...there were so many great musicians and the audiences Di
K i were really excited about music and ‘ey
aenant h culture. Touring in the United 4f
bios as the part I cherish most. | was obsessed with the US as a x
= kapa because of the band I got to cross and re-cross the (9 ROM
untry, understand and appreciate it and mast great people, some ta
ang time and , NG 3
SINA Nap: SY NAA

Angie: It was such a huge time and it happened as fast as it looked

| like it did! I joined the band when | was 16, we played our first shaw)

í in Australia, the year after that and I was 19 years old when it blew ,
up and we became a household name in our hometown. It was also a \
unique time, in Australia at least, where indie made the unlikely 3
crossover into mainstream. That meant that we were our weird
selves but on relatively conservative daytime television variety
shows and major concert line-ups, etc. It was a major adjustment for

ai a teenage girl who was just finding her feet and forming her identity /

` as an adult. As a band, it definitely affected the way we toured, as

4 $ opportunities opened right up! The internal dynamic became pretty

Bb) a ntense with such long stints on the road and so much focus on us |

a and our material. We were still developing as a collaborative unit, so
| that made it a lot less exploratory and more about stamina for the /

‘CG: Your second album, Shape, is one of my favorite albums from the
'mid-905s. I know that you worked with multiple producers on that one -

a | Cameron Mevey, Ted Nicely, and David M. Allen. Those are three “

| I was wondering why you decided to use multiple |

amazing producers |
producers on Shape - especially ones with such different production f
history?, z MA a

‘Simon: The plan was for Cameron to produce the record. He was na
busy on a.number of projects so Dave was brought in to Kan iy kapag
of the sessions, and Cameron came in regularly. Gameret ane sa SG E
also went off and wrote the first two singles. /

definitely evolved! Shape was an 3
just had to [a

| Angie: Thank you! Yes, it
| untameable beast that wa!
he process:

nted what it wanted - we
| surrender to |
i i CG: I have heard that you have peen working on new music.....will 2086
. be the lucky year for us Frente fans to hear some new stuff? :) Either
way we'll wait as long as we have to TTET
Simon: We've done some writing and worked on some demos.
i Nothing's ready yet....we'll reconvene after the new year and try to
| find some time, in amongst the childrearing, solo projects, house’
| renovations and the rest. | would say 2026 is possible...just. / o

| Angie: It’s a piece of string and we do hope to find one of the ends to '

PAUSE TRANSMISSION / PAUSE TRANSMISSION / PAUSE TRANSMISSION / PAUSE TRANSMISSION / PAUSE TRANSMISSION / :

L the following is an exclusive presentation from “true tales from culture cringe”

q THE HA

Í ok i know it's not the halloween season or anything like that but | just HAD to share another spooky true
story. plus it fits the theme of the issue. it’s all true, and if you have any questions or comments feel free to

email me a culturecringemedia@gmail.com or reach out on instagram @culturecringe. thanks.

i lived in this house once that was built by a man who was an mtsu professor and his
passion hobby was communicating via ham radio. he had his own station that apparently
reached all over the country and he had a dedicated shed out back that he broadcasted
from. it was a really neat building, and had some crazy electrical power run to it - fm
pretty sure there were even some 220 volt outlets in it. ANYWAYS i guess i should clarify
that i moved into the house not too long after he passed away......in the house. so yeah,
weird things would happen. not too shortly after i moved in, i would notice the light
being on out in the shed in the middle of the night. i'd look out back and see it all lit up. i
was positive that i didn't leave it on! it happened quite a few times. then it stopped. but
| here's where thing get interesting....... i used to do this podcast and on one episode i had
some local “ghost hunters” on as guests. one of them was a pyehie psychic, she was an
older lady. when they came over, she immediately started seeing things and sensing
things. keep in mind - i didn't tell them anything at all about the history of the house. she
saw the man walking around the shed, and described him PERFECTLY (i knew what he
looked like)..... she said that she was seeing him tinker with old radios, and that he liked
me because i collected vintage radios. it was CRAZY! after they finished the episode
that they left, the house had some insane energy all night long. it felt warm, but in a
fuzzy way. it felt like there was a static in the air. wild things happened that night -

bA] noises, a door opened that shouldn't have, and my dog was acting strange. but nothing
z3 scary happened, it was just a vibe. nothing happened after that. i dunno maybe it gave
H him closure.....?

Le e e haunteq|
| radio 3 Shack ? q

-literally everyone oris Hetaned to
him in the 80s HEME

-knew a — about ghosts

-knew a ton about ufos , : h
-knew a ton about govt a an me of shaggy on
coverups GE] 4 eo istan
-knew a ton about space -let eee do a “long distance
-knew a ton about demons dedication” sig
3 ; ‘ -HATED heavy metal
‘knew a ton about near E
j -will forever be remembered for
death experiences his] d ffai Ita
-talked to real life witches B16gan0ary o KST MAIKCOND

known as “casey kasem’s profane
radio meltdown”
-LOVED the band Mr. Mister,

on the phone

Bonus question!!! Can

0
2085 that you found =a hs ape me of some new music you he
ape and I'm always anga on repeat? It was a, piniga" Mm
on or suggestions on thi year for |
hings I missed out

Angie: Laura Marli
rling - Patte

the Middle, Emi rns In Repeat, Richard D
SE ee a : =, Wurramara - NARA, Madison rabi GG sas
Kaira Views SS SN Coda Chroma - aa A

5 oir Who Couldn” 2 S,
Bonny Light H ouldn’t Say - Live in An
Polyphonic "a - Keep Me On Your Mind/Set pn

mog. SRIyago Ehterptiss, Laura Jean - Amat aii
- Amateurs.

Simon: | have been writi
riting and recordin
3 d g my own music al
é c
p city much ignoring the outside world so am ready for sa
music....all suggestions very welcome. =

thank you so much to angie an o
of frente for answering my questi

end of interview / end of intervi intervi J of in 7
€ / of interview / end of interview / end of interview / end of interview / end af b na
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rei

| SEC. ok that’s better. like i was
lcollege radio, without a doubt, ay. if you've beon pick
[other zines, you've definitely seen me reference college radio from time to time
would like to take this time to give some shoutouts to the radio towers that break

ME. the first college radio station

al the information
discovered was 88.5 out of volunteer state university. back in the mid-90s, they pi
it’ i discovered most of my early formative indi

some really really good stuff. it’s howi

same time i discovere jlt. that station Was t

definitely appointme

concrete. i coul

listen to the next day |
rinmy inside coat pocket, and run the car speaker through my sleeve andg $

my tape playe i I 5 aa
to my hand. then i'd sit ab my desk with said hand on my ear, so i could listen while
saying. long live college radi É

pretending to pay attention

[an essay by me
E
E
5
[on
B

| well i'll be damned if i have just about run out of room, erin

pa) some words on short wave radio and numbers stations. I WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. so.

| "ve recently gotten into picking up short wave broadcasts. ditis

| pretty incredible what all you can pick up. the cool thing is that nothing comes in res
| strong, everything sounds pretty messed up and fuzzy, and it realy depends on the
| weather when it comes to how many stations you can pullin. i did find a NUMBERS

|

|

| | station on my first night. those are stations that just broadcast morse code, beeps, To
sometimes short clips of music, and sometimes some military code / speak. look them up

about them. they’re mysterious. and neat. but don’t dig too!

this is my 12th zine of the year. GO ME!

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|
| - there are cool vids out there
deep. see you next time, as always. by the way,